1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to a plaster wall surface having a fresco-like appearance. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a coating composition, plaster material, a method for applying the plaster material to a wall to obtain a fresco-like finish and the fresco-like plaster wall surface created thereby.
2. Description of the related art including information disclosed under 37 CFR .sctn..sctn. 1.97-1.99.
Heretofore various techniques have been proposed for creating a wall finish that has random swirls or designs, e.g. marble-like, with varying color density, i.e., with lighter portions and darker portions of the same basic color.
A new technique for providing such a finish has been referred to as a faux finish and several methods for creating such finishes are disclosed in the in the following U.S. Patents:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Patentee ______________________________________ 3,915,917 Weiant, et al. 4,059,551 Weiant, et al. 4,088,804 Cornwell et al. 4,142,911 Ellis et al. 4,159,301 Buser et al. 4,267,091 Geelhaar, et al. 4,330,458 Spinelli, et al. 4,339,365 Becher, et al. 4,354,912 Jasperson 4,708,745 Schonhausen 4,710,540 McAlpin 4,946,715 Avera 5,084,303 Avera 5,122,395 Sandor 5,164,433 Ricci et al. 5,308,890 Snyder ______________________________________
Before the advent of the faux finishes, fresco painting has been utilized for centuries to obtain a fresco finish; the fresco mural-painting technique involved painting permanent lime-proof pigments dispersed in wateron freshly laid lime plaster.
In fresco paintings, mineral colors are applied in a thin (0.001-0.003-in.) layer to wet plaster surfaces and, as a result of environmental exposure to carbon dioxide, the calcium lime is converted to calcium carbonate which retains the pigment and on drying imparts to the surface a marble-like appearance. Fresco coatings which are applied by trowel or similar device have a thickness of 0.005-0.25 in. and these coatings exhibit, on drying, a marbled texture whose appearance is enhanced by the presence of a colorant (dye) and paper pulp additive in the formulation. The dye is absorbed preferentially on the hydrophilic fibers of the pulp thereby highlighting the visual attributes of the coating.
In a fresco, the pigments are absorbed into the wet wall by capillary action and become an integral part of the wall's surface. Indoors, on a properly prepared support, fresco is one of the most permanent painting techniques. Its colors are stable, not because they are protected by a calcareous film or "limeskin"--as formerly believed--, but because they are made with chemically inert pigments. Fresco is not adaptable to exterior murals; its chief enemies are polluted air and abrasion by windbome particles.
Fresco meets all the requirements for an ideal mural painting: it has a perfectly mat surface; its color effect is brilliant; it lends itself especially to monumental styles; and it ages nobly.
As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, the present invention provides a coating composition including a number of elements, a plaster material including the coating composition, a method for mixing and applying the plaster material and coating composition combination to a wall, a surface, or a ceiling to obtain a fresco-like finish, and a fresco-like plaster wall, surface, or ceiling formed thereby.